Hikari no Supiritto
by Kana Miyazawa
Summary: [One Shot] After a death occurs amongst the Chosen Children, Kouichi is left devastated. Can a special spirit help ease his pain? [Kouichi x Kouji Brotherly Love]


**Last Revision:** June 28, 2007.

**Author's Notes:** This is my second fanfic on , but it's the most recent one since the first fanfic I posted has since been deleted. Like my first fanfic, however, this one is a Kouji and Kouichi brotherly love story. So, enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon Frontier or any of the characters in it.

**Hikari no Supiritto**

_Together in Spirit_

My gaze fell downward as I felt the sun shining down on me. There I was, just looking, thinking. It was a perfect summer day. The sun had decided to come out from behind the clouds not long ago so that it could grace the land with its golden radiance. I could hear other kids laughing and playing, not a care in the world. So why wasn't I out doing the things any kid my age would do?

It was because I was at a cemetery. My eyes glanced up at the tombstone before me and I felt bitter tears fall down my face. Why do such terrible things have to happen to good people? Everything that happened that day is still fresh in my memory.

I remember the four of us, Takuya, Izumi, Kouji and me walking down the street together, just talking. We didn't think anything of it. Why, it was just another summer day that had occurred earlier in this very same month. All of us had gotten into the habit of meeting each other and taking a little stroll, just for the sake of doing something.

Izumi and Takuya had been talking about something or other and I had been teasing Kouji. Teasing him about liking Izumi, to be more accurate. It was obvious to me that he liked her with how he talked about her all the time. Kouji, being the type of person that he was just blushed every time I mentioned his crush on her and told me to be quiet. It was a sweet thing, but also an amusing one as well.

I also remember the road we had been walking on. Pretty much abandoned except for the occasional car that passed through every couple of days, or so we thought.

Then I saw that big truck heading down the road. It was a faded red and the windshield was cracked. The driver side's window had been broken completely, almost as if someone had tried to break in and steal it.

But more important than the shattered glass or the rustic look was the fact that it was heading straight towards our little group of four.

Takuya had reacted quickly to the oncoming danger and pulled the person closest to him, Izumi, into an alleyway that branched off from the main road. I just stood in the middle of the street, frozen by fear, and thinking that I was going to die. Just as it seemed that there was no chance of escape, I felt myself get thrown off-balance and land hard on the sidewalk, scraped up but out of harm's way.

I had quickly looked up to see Kouji in the path of the truck. Not a second later I saw the truck smack into him head on, and his body was tossed back like a child's toy. The truck swerved after hitting him, smashing into the side of a brick wall. Completely shocked by the series of events, I ran over to Kouji's near-motionless body.

His breathing was ragged and his eyes were closed. I fell to my knees as I looked down at him. Bloody scrapes covered much of his body, mostly his ankles and arms. He hadn't been wearing his jacket that day because of the heat, so his arms had been left completely unprotected. The contact with the ground beneath him had dirtied up his skin and clothes.

Suddenly he coughed, his body shaking with every movement of his chest. Once he settled, his eyes slowly drifted up to mine. "Kouichi…" He said, almost in a whisper. His eyes became glassy, and it became obvious that he had coughed up more then air as blood fell from his mouth and slid down his chin.

"Shh…everything's going to be fine…" I said, no longer able to hold back the tears. He looked up at me and tried to laugh, but all that came from his efforts was sharp pain, and he winced at it. His hand shakily searched around for something to grab onto, finding my hand and weakly grabbing onto it.

"Kouichi, everything…isn't…fine." He said, gasping, shaking as he spoke. "It's…too hard…to breathe." He coughed again, bringing more blood from his lungs up. "Tell…our father…and my stepmother…that I…love them…" he said, his voice almost inaudible. It sounded almost as if he was crying, but he wasn't.

"No Kouji! Don't talk like that! You're going to be fine!" I said, beginning to panic.

"Kouichi…I…I love you too…" He said, trying his best to smile. "Please…take care of everyone…for me…" And then, I sat and watched over him until his eyes fell shut, until the hand gripping onto my own had gone limp. Finally, he stopped breathing altogether.

I shivered and began sobbing heavily, my world completely destroyed.

For the first time I noticed Izumi standing behind me. My tear-filled eyes met her gaze, and I noticed that she was crying too. She positioned herself so that she was sitting on the ground next to me and I immediately hugged her, just trying to relieve the pain of that great hole that had just opened up inside of me. She hugged me back tightly and we both sat there sobbing over the death of her friend, and my brother.

He was really gone, and I couldn't believe it. I still can't. The person that I had spent so much time trying to find, the person who helped me through the tough times, the person who loved me regardless of what I did was gone, forever.

Everything else that happened after that is blurred for the most part. Takuya had gone to get help after the incident, and when he came back and saw Izumi and me sobbing on the ground he knew what had happened without a word being said. I remember seeing him run over to Kouji's lifeless body and cry out his name before falling to his knees in agony.

So I sat there, in a cemetery, looking at my brother's tombstone and remembering that day, remembering that Kouji was dead, all because of some drunken idiot. The police found the man unconscious in the truck and he was sentenced to life in prison due to previous crimes he had been associated with, but he'd still be able to live, even despite his injuries. Kouji would never have that privilege again.

Izumi told me that Kouji had pushed me out of harm's way before being hit himself. He had sacrificed himself to save me. Why couldn't he have forgotten about me and gotten out of the way himself?

It was because he loved me I thought, and cared about me. Never did he think about his own safety when his friends were in danger. He was a bit distant from the rest of us, but he cared. I wish he hadn't cared so much about me. It tore me up inside when I realized that it was my existence that cost him his life.

I remember the doctors. They said that Kouji died after his lungs had filled with body fluid. A broken rib had made its way into one of his lungs. He had to die that terribly painful death because of me. I couldn't quit blaming myself, because I was the one responsible. It hurt knowing that, and it still does.

I also remember Kouji's funeral. I remember his stepmother crying into my father's chest, he rubbing her back and doing his best not to cry. All of us Ex-Legendary Warriors were there too. We all had a good cry over our loss and eventually we had to leave, but the pain of their deceased friend would take years to leave them. The pain of my deceased brother however, would never disappear.

I eventually gathered up enough strength to get up from my spot on the muddy grass, not even bothering to dust myself off. The little things like that didn't matter, Kouji was gone. For a long time after his death I believed that life didn't matter. We're all just here for a short while and then we're gone. Some have a shorter time to live than others, but in the end we all die, so who really cares?

My feet slowly carried my grief-stricken body back to my house, the whole trip seeming like an eternity. I entered my house quietly without so much as making a noise as I slipped my shoes off and walked up to my room, shutting the door and flopping down on my bed upon entering. I looked over to my desk, more specifically at the picture on it. It was a picture of all us Ex-Legendary Warriors, just standing there looking rather happy. Kouji and I were in it too.

"Kouji…" More tears fell down my face and dripped onto my bed. It's true that you don't realize how much you love someone until they're gone. I always knew I loved Kouji, I just never imagined that he'd leave me so soon. My eyes left the picture, my mind unable to take the pain any longer. I turned over on my bed so that I was lying on my stomach before burying my face into my pillow, crying softly. Soon I had drifted off into a world of unconsciousness, the only place I could go to escape the terrible widening hole in my heart.

There was a beautiful blue sky above me, and clouds below my feet. A gentle wind blew from behind, caressing my face. There was no sign of the sun, but the area was bright and warm. Then I saw him. A boy about my age and height was standing before me. His long black hair was tied back by a bluish band that almost matched his eye color. He wore a yellow shirt with a blue and yellow jacket going over it. Gray Capri pants and a brown and navy blue bandana completed his wardrobe. I stuttered as I spoke, unable to believe my own eyes "Kouji…?"

The boy standing before me nodded, a small frown resting on his face. His eyes were sad, kind of like those a puppy has when it wants something.

"Kouji…I'm so sorry…" I said, tears coming to my eyes yet again. "If it hadn't been for me, you would still be alive. You would still be able to be with your friends…you would still have a chance to fulfill your dreams…" I continued, my voice but a whisper, my cheeks becoming cold and damp with the tears that had long since left my eyes.

Kouji walked over to me. For the first time I noticed the golden, almost heavenly glow around his body. His face was calm and his eyes looked at me with the same silent calmness that surrounded his whole body. He extended his arms forward and embraced me as I stepped towards him. I shook a bit as I cried, my mind engulfed by the darkness and grief that I had been left to deal with on my own.

"Kouichi…" he said at last. "I knew I wouldn't be able to survive if I helped you, but…." He trailed off, his hand began rubbing my back gently. "…you're my brother, I wanted you to live. My life isn't important as long as you're alive and well."

I wrapped my arms around him and cried a bit more, partly out of happiness that my brother was with me, and partly out of sadness and the grief that still engulfed my heart. He hugged my tighter, doing his best to comfort me. "Kouji…if you're dead, then how can you be here?"

He smiled slightly as I asked this. "I'm not really here, only my spirit is. You can talk to me and see me only because you are dreaming."

"I'm…dreaming?" I asked, slightly shocked. Everything seemed so real. So how could I only be dreaming? It didn't make sense. How could I be so conscious of everything around me if I was only dreaming?

"But…if that's true then you…you're going to leave me soon…." I said, my voice shaky. He only nodded in response before looking at me.

"Yes Kouichi, but don't worry. I'll always be with you…because I love you. Know that I'm okay with what happened. Don't think that it was your fault I'm not alive anymore. I wanted to protect you; I don't regret my decision….and neither should you." He said before hugging me tight and letting go. He slowly backed away, his eyes bright with joy. "Remember that I'll always be with you…and that I love you."

"Kouji…I love you too. You'll always be alive in my heart…"

Just then the world I was in turned black and I saw Kouji disappear. Darkness covered the area before a bright light took its place. I looked around to see my room, everything still the same, but yet different. Different because of the presence around me. I could feel Kouji's spirit nearby. He was watching over me, protecting me. I could feel warmth around me, the warmth of his gentle embrace. It still hurt knowing that he was gone, that I'd never see his face again, but I knew he had been right when he said he'd always be with me.

We'd always be together, in spirit.

**Author's Note:** End of the fanfic. Critique is always appreciated. Thanks to everyone who read through it.


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